Shigeru Miyamoto: Nintendo Needs a "New Franchise"

[Gormech]

Nintendo ... please just make Banjo and Kazooie a platformer again.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

C'mon, guys, old franchises are what have kept you going! In fact, if anything, most of your new ideas have been what have harmed you. Why wreck a good thing?

Just give us Mario with a new gimmick and pretend it's innovation. It's worked before.

If anything, they should try something new, but still keep on with their other franchises as normal. I think a lot of people that ask for Nintendo to do something new with their existing franchises, just want a new game with new everything, because seriously, if they take an existing franchise and make a core game in it that is changed too drastically, then is it going to really feel like part of that franchise.


That is the thing about Nintendo that I like, when they say they are going to do something, they usually do it(in a development sense). When they say they are going to make a Mario platformer, that is what they make, and lately they do add new twists and powers and stuff, but it is still a platformer.

Unlike EA with games like Dead Space(Horror game with shooter elements), DS2(Horror shooter), DS3(Shooter).

Other than that, Nintendo also makes games that use their characters outside their normal games, and it works damn near every time. They take franchises places where if others did it, they would die, or end up on life-support.

Mario does different stuff all the time in many styles of games and Nintendo succeeds with them. Where as Sega with Sonic, he is still feeling the effects of the horrific experiments they preformed on him.

For the most part, I think many developers are just jealous of majority loyal fandom that Nintendo has. I really think system specs are a minor point on why many developers and publishers are being snobby towards Nintendo and saying they don't want to develop for the Wii U, they are trying to bring Nintendo down, because the way Nintendo carries itself is different from theirs and rather than change and share in the love that Nintendo gets, they want to eliminate them.

What I find sad and hilarious is that floundering companies that are finding it hard to get acceptance from their fans and seeing a possible looming gaming crash because of what they've done, are trying to eliminate the one company that brought the industry out of the ashes after the first crash. I'm not saying there is a crash possible in the near future, but if anybody would be to blame for a new gaming crash, it wouldn't be Nintendo that caused it.

 

[RicoADF]

I figured this thread would be full of people sneering at the idea that Nintendo ever does anything "new".

I was right.

So I figured I'd just casually drop a list of games and franchises that Nintendo's either released on their console exclusively and/or at least marginally contributed to (even if it was just being in the publisher's seat) within the last decade or so. And just to make it hard, I didn't pick out any that were Mario, DK, Zelda, Kirby, Pokemon, or Metroid games.

The Pikmin franchise (1-3)
Advance Wars / Battalion Wars franchise (6 games across 4 consoles)
Baten Kaitos (2 games)
Several Fire Emblem games (I believe it's around half a dozen)
The Wii Sports franchise (2 games)
The Wii Fit franchise (2 games, third coming)
The Super Smash Bros franchise (3 games, fourth coming)
Endless Ocean (2 games)
Xenoblade Chronicles (as well as an upcoming game, possibly from the same franchise)
The Last Story
Pandora's Tower
The Wonderful 101
Both Lego City games
Bayonetta 2
A few Kid Icarus games
The Golden Sun franchise (3 games)
Nintendogs
Several Animal Crossing games
World of Mana franchise (3 games)
Elite Beat Agents
A few games in the Professor Layton series
Rhythm Heaven series of games (2-3 games IIRC)
A few games in the Dragon Quest series

....and I'm sure I've missed a bunch of 'em, but that's all I care to list. I think it makes my point well enough. Man, that crazy Nintendo. They never try anything new.

*eyeroll*

People, the notion that they don't "make a lot of new properties all the time" is pretty clearly not true. And even if you accept that notion as true (when we know it isn't), there's a simple answer as to why they spend so much time making games for their most popular franchises: a lot of the new material they make doesn't sell nearly as well or get nearly the same level of critical praise. If Activision stopped making Call of Duty tomorrow and started making more new IPs, some of us would be happy, but a great deal more people would be bitching about how they want more CoD and wouldn't buy those new games.

Simply put, you only sell what you know the customer will buy. A lot of folks who buy Nintendo consoles do it because they want to play games from those franchises. They're big unit-pushing franchises. Don't irrationally hate Nintendo for something that every other publisher does and would continue to do in the same situation.

Now I will say this, Nintendo does have one rather large flaw that IS worth bitching about: they're still REALLY bad at advertising their games. Hell, you probably didn't know most of these existed, so it's fairly understandable that you'd be uneducated about how many different things Nintendo has tried to bring in to differentiate their fleet of games. Nintendo really needs to work on advertising their products better, instead of just picking a few select games to brag about and not advertising the rest.

Or you could stop abandoning your existing franchises. F-Zero GX HD would be absolutely wonderful, even if it offers absolutely nothing new... and a new Star Fox game that actually plays like the first two without any stupid game-changing gimmicks or being an entirely different genre would be fantastic.

They're not abandoning those franchises.

Miyamoto is on record as saying that he doesn't have any fancy new ideas for F-Zero and doesn't want to put out any game without trying to bring some new dimension to the table (and it'll be harder to nail a unique feel for F-Zero now that Mario Kart has started moving into that territory). I imagine Star Fox is in the same situation.

I'd rather they take their time and make something solid.

Ive never heard of most of them. Sounds less like they make no new IPs and more like they don't market the damn things...... Are they all on Wii U? Hmm... *rubs chin*

 

[WouldYouKindly]

I want to take a crack at listing Nintendo franchises as well:

-Mario
-Zelda
-Donkey Kong
-Metroid
-Star Fox
-Fire Emblem
-Pikmin
-Custom Robo
-Pokemon
-Kid Icarus
-Kirby
-Advance Wars

That's it, that's all I got, but it's not a bad variety honestly. We don't need constant new IPs that run their course after 3-4 games, it's not a bad thing that Nintendo has a table of franchises that they update and add too, especially since each one plays pretty differently from one another.

And also what do Sony and Microsoft have? Sony couldn't even scrape together a roster for their fighting game without turning to third parties, and Microsoft just has Halo, which they didn't even create.

Most people believe the PS2 to be the best console of it's generation, possibly one of the best consoles ever, and it wasn't because of it's first party games. I couldn't even name one, but that thing had godlike third-party support and we got some truly spectacular games out of it. Granted, there was a whole bunch of shit games too, but there's a simple solution to that, let the consumers not buy them.

 

[Roxas1359]

Ive never heard of most of them. Sounds less like they make no new IPs and more like they don't market the damn things...... Are they all on Wii U? Hmm... *rubs chin*

Most of those are on multiple Nintendo consoles like the Wii and DS.
But Nintendo does have a huge problem with not advertising some of there games. I mean heck they rarely play some ads down here advertising their products, and none of their commercials down here actually even show the Wii U in them. The only advertisements we do get down where I live are for the big name Nintendo games with Mario in the title. We don't even get Zelda ads! >.>

OT: Always nice to step out of your comfort zone and make something new.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

For the most part, I think many developers are just jealous of majority loyal fandom that Nintendo has. I really think system specs are a minor point on why many developers and publishers are being snobby towards Nintendo and saying they don't want to develop for the Wii U, they are trying to bring Nintendo down, because the way Nintendo carries itself is different from theirs and rather than change and share in the love that Nintendo gets, they want to eliminate them.

What I find sad and hilarious is that floundering companies that are finding it hard to get acceptance from their fans and seeing a possible looming gaming crash because of what they've done, are trying to eliminate the one company that brought the industry out of the ashes after the first crash. I'm not saying there is a crash possible in the near future, but if anybody would be to blame for a new gaming crash, it wouldn't be Nintendo that caused it.

Actually, another thing I find funny about the pubs who are bitching about the Wii U is that they also tend to have one other thing in common: they have a lack of titles for the 3DS. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a MAJOR Western publisher aside from Warner Bros. release a title for the 3DS? EA has nothing for the 3DS, neither do Activision or Ubisoft. I don't care what they think about power, if you pass up a system with a 32 million install base you'd have to be a moron. I don't what's going through Ubi, EA, and Acti's heads, but they need to get their crap together. Speaking of which, Acti might be in for something earth-shattering:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/07/us-vivendi-activision-idUSBRE9660DA20130707

Uh oh

 

[Crazie_Guy]

Two God damn words.

Mario FPS

Do it Miyamoto... do it and make it your last big contribution to gaming before you retire. I know you can do it, and think of everyone's reaction when it actually is good. The impact that would have on gaming would be something to see.

The possibilities are endless!

Metroid RTS - If you can push a 3 Altar Chozo Ghost all-in by the 6:20 mark, IdrA will just ragequit.

Golden Sun WRPG - I used to be an Adept like you, then I took a Ragnarok to the knee.

Star Fox space sim - Why fly a Hyperion Vanguard when you could be in an Arwing?

Earthbound MMORPG - You thought I was going to use Pokemon for this one, didn't you?

Pokemon... whatever Monster Hunter is - BECAUSE YES

Fire Emblem 4X - Who hasn't thought Total War would be twice as awesome with some magic and dragons? Also, Nintendo would get it right the first time. I'm looking at you, Stardock.

Legend of Zelda with Wiimote plus sword control - Try in vain to slash your way through a bland tech demo for terrible '1-1' wiimote sword control that doesn't actually work. It's funny because it's a joke game that could never actually get made. Right?

Donkey Kong visual novel - Carefully set the right flags to advance as you try to woo one of 37 lovely monkey ladies while avoiding the pitfalls and jumpmans of everyday life in monkey high school.

F-Zero interactive storytelling experience - Quick-Time-Event your way through an enthralling, deeply personal story as you follow Captain Falcon suffering through a crippling FALCON PUNCH addiction that turns dark when domestic abuse and guilt threatens to rip him and his family apart. Chock full of POLYGONS and EMOTIONS.

 

[Darmani]

I don't think its wrong to say. . .introducting a new IP a generation and playing off that is a bad thing The issue everyone is STILL bitter ex-girl/boyfriend about is that IP was The WiiPlay/fitness games. Just as gaming IPs need to step up aimed at your core audience as well as to just juggling your core franchises. It makes them feel special. this is a long term relationship, if not a marriage, always being giving something aimed at you to make you feel special and important is hardly a cry.

 

[Darmani]

They have a lot of good and varied franchises. They just choose to not do anything new with a good number of them.

Pikmin? Earthbound ('Mother' series)?

Just wanted to point out that Pikmin 3 was announced quite a while ago and the creator of Mother said that he was very much done with the series, with the third one intended to be the end. Doesn't excuse the lack of an international release, but the reason there aren't any more Mother games is that the creative team feels that they are done.

For my money, I would love a new Star Fox game, and I would have thought the Wii would have had some interesting play schemes for an on-rails space shooter, but oh well.

Starfox really doesn't have anywhere else to go. They tried action adventure, then Halo-clone plus Starfox, and then Starfox+SOCOM or pre Xcom revival stuff and none of it quite worked. Moreover the slots the story in a corner.

I think they mean they want Nintendo to do its variation on Gears or God of War or whatever is popular with tis vaunted level of polish and depth but wide accessibiliy ignoring those games may actually by their nature not expandable in that way, appealing to the creative/decision making culture, or appeal to the primary decision making market. That they are seemingly excluded fron Nintendo console presence makes the company further frustrating to the consumer. Attempts to make appealing ones haven't helped (Conduit 1&2 and red Steel) especially mixed with demands to meet their interface reqs

 

[William Dickbringer]

What about all that IP you're just sitting on and are doing absolutely nothing with? There's a plethora of Nintendo titles that actually DO deserve sequels. What about a new Star Fox game (and I mean new not a remake)? What about a new F-Zero?

well seeing as the last latest star fox game on console wasn't that good (and I mean assault never played command) we still got a while on that I would love to get the basic idea of star fox 2 that was canned and put it into a new one this generation and the F-Zero they stated previously that they are having troubles trying to figure out where to go with that series so that's on hiatus till they find out what to do
O.T. well if it turns out interesting it might move the wii-u from a maybe buy to a future buy

 

[MetalDooley]

Nintendo ... please just make Banjo and Kazooie a platformer again.

Except they can't because Banjo-Kazooie is owned by Microsoft

 

[Darmani]

C'mon, guys, old franchises are what have kept you going! In fact, if anything, most of your new ideas have been what have harmed you. Why wreck a good thing?

Just give us Mario with a new gimmick and pretend it's innovation. It's worked before.

If anything, they should try something new, but still keep on with their other franchises as normal. I think a lot of people that ask for Nintendo to do something new with their existing franchises, just want a new game with new everything, because seriously, if they take an existing franchise and make a core game in it that is changed too drastically, then is it going to really feel like part of that franchise.


That is the thing about Nintendo that I like, when they say they are going to do something, they usually do it(in a development sense). When they say they are going to make a Mario platformer, that is what they make, and lately they do add new twists and powers and stuff, but it is still a platformer.

Unlike EA with games like Dead Space(Horror game with shooter elements), DS2(Horror shooter), DS3(Shooter).

Other than that, Nintendo also makes games that use their characters outside their normal games, and it works damn near every time. They take franchises places where if others did it, they would die, or end up on life-support.

Mario does different stuff all the time in many styles of games and Nintendo succeeds with them. Where as Sega with Sonic, he is still feeling the effects of the horrific experiments they preformed on him.

For the most part, I think many developers are just jealous of majority loyal fandom that Nintendo has. I really think system specs are a minor point on why many developers and publishers are being snobby towards Nintendo and saying they don't want to develop for the Wii U, they are trying to bring Nintendo down, because the way Nintendo carries itself is different from theirs and rather than change and share in the love that Nintendo gets, they want to eliminate them.

What I find sad and hilarious is that floundering companies that are finding it hard to get acceptance from their fans and seeing a possible looming gaming crash because of what they've done, are trying to eliminate the one company that brought the industry out of the ashes after the first crash. I'm not saying there is a crash possible in the near future, but if anybody would be to blame for a new gaming crash, it wouldn't be Nintendo that caused it.

You had me until the "they're just jealous," no 'they' aren't.
They're just not suited for the Nintendo Way which might have worked and was standard 15 years ago but moved out by the PC development way. In fact the traditional japanese software way is an impediment, in some cases, to their own development with firms that are so japanese it hurts relocating to places with more favorable IP laws and worker treatment expectations.

The typical game developer isn't the 30 year old lifer, its the college student in or out of 2-4year program that could likely get a job ANYWHERE (yeah, even in this economy as everyone and their green grocer needs an IT guy now.)
Only they need to peter principle up the codemonkey ranks. This isn't unique to Japanese corporate culture but its more severe in Nintendo with its ancient history, ossified structures, and focus on Japanese market. I imagine unless you speak Japanese this will be a major impediment to getting to head your own franchise and project in addition to the painful lack of movement that Japanese "long term" corporate culture produces (seniority trumps suitability).

Compare and contrast the Cinderella stories of Minecraft, Portal, Halo, Bioware, and others
Especially with the rise of Kickstarter. Its why Xbox making a PC-machine that plays games got them so much support from a base that seemed not to exist. Its why new and fresh IPs with tried developed ideas and implementation seem to pop out the woodwork.

A trained guy with a passion for games and programming education and training who can work anywhere but wants to be in games isn't going to find it easy or welcoming to do it for Nintendo. Again the other console makers are very VERY openly pandering to the PC coder which btw does overlap strongly with the PC gamer (as one of the first gateways to that is modding off other games or using their engines)

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Wait, wait. I thought Mario #76 v1.5. Legend of Zelda 24. Metroid 17. And Donkey Kong 10. Were perfectly original.
Jokes aside, it'd be nice to see a new Nintendo franchise with power house holding like Mario, LoZ and Metroid.

 

[Voxgizer]

How has no one posted a "You don't say?" meme yet?

Well, glad they're coming around.

 

[Darmani]

Wait, wait. I thought Mario #76 v1.5. Legend of Zelda 24. Metroid 17. And Donkey Kong 10. Were perfectly original.
Jokes aside, it'd be nice to see a new Nintendo franchise with power house holding like Mario, LoZ and Metroid.

Dude originality is HIGHLY overrated. Arkham Asylum was Assasin's Creed with Batman skinning and performances. Amnesia was mod. And.. its a long list. The main thing is variety and fresh ideas with firm and enjoyable execution.

 

[DarthSka]

As long as the games keep being fun, I'll play them whether they're established franchises or new ones.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Probably running low on characters to put in the next Smash Bros...

But in all seriousness, I haven't cared about Nintendo since the N64, but that might change if they came up with something good. Nintendo has been living in its comfort zone for waaaay to long, so I doubt this would be a bad thing.

 

[hexFrank202]

Now as I was just talking about a few posts ago, originality comes from new ideas, and that 'new ideas' is not the same as a new IP. Still, this can be promising, but I'm honestly not expecting much. They didn't bring in a SINGLE new franchise of major worth on the Wii as far as I can remember--even the DS has a few new legends to its name like Professor Layton--and very few on the Gamecube.